The bright Virginia is a supporting player, mildly citrusy with a hint of grass. The dark Virginia is earthy, dark fruit sweet with minor spice and woody notes. The rum in the topping is mild and I'm sure there's a fruity essence added as well, which dominates the rum. Well balanced for a blend with little complexity, and a slightly more than mild nic-hit. The flakes are a little moist, but I didn't dry them. Burns at a slow to moderate pace with a cool, clean, smooth consistent flavor to the finish. Leaves very little moisture in the bowl, and can burn to ash. Won't bite even if you're a fast puffer. The room note is pleasant, and though the after taste is short lived, it's pleasant, too. An all day smoke that isn't exciting, but it gives you enough of what you want if you don't want a complex tobacco. The earthiness makes it worth your time. Should age well.

This one rang my chimes and even caught me by surprise as I swear there is Perique in Special Brown Flake. The tin descriptive didn't mention anything other than a Rum topping, which I never detected at all. So, what's up with that?

F&T's Special Brown Flake arrived at just the right moisture content, rubbed out easily, packed well and burned to a nice, dry ash with no trouble.

The flavor was spicy Virginia (it gets more spicy as the bottom third of the bowl is consumed,) and overall, presented itself as a fresh tasting, clean, cool and a tad sweet smoke. The nicotine content was middle of the road.

F&T’s Special Brown Flake looks great in the tin. The flakes are neatly organized and while too moist for my pipe right away, it wasn’t overly wet compared to some other flakes on the market. It is no secret that makers of F&T use high quality tobacco and SBT is no exception. The rum flavor is barely detectible compared to other blends with added spirits. I chose to lightly rub out the flakes and settle in for a long slow smoke and on that note, SBT delivers. Is it my favorite flake? No, not even close because it isn’t all that complex. But with that said, I tend to judge VA flakes based on how well they age and I find that this flake ages quite well. I compared this tin to a tin that was six years old and the difference is delightful. The topping is more evident and the usual raisons, figs scent much more pronounced. It could be just the aging process, but in this case I don’t think so as there seems to be an additional topping that comes through with age. It doesn’t bite and while not my favorite, I enjoy it and will buy and age a few more tins for aging. Lovers of flakes that produce more bass notes can’t go wrong here.

Thin flakes of mottled light and dark brown, with a strong tin note of topping. It smelled a lot too close to some of the Mac Barens sugary fruitier stuff, which didn't give me a warm and fuzzy feeling. The flakes were a bit too moist but dried out quickly. The drier the better with this one, but crispy was too dry. Drying it out subdued the flavoring to the point where it was enjoyable. Smoking in a morta helped as well, so if you really love the casing, smoke this one on the moist side. I lightly rubbed out the flakes for the best performance.

The flavoring didn't strike me as rum - more of a honey and sugar casing. It was a bit too prominent out of the tin for my liking but as the tobacco dried, it melded better with the Virginia. Almost no complexity here but a nice tobacco in the lower midrange level with dips into the upper bass. The tobacco tasted sweet but as the casing was always evident, I'd guess red Virginia to be the varietal. I did not taste anything resembling perique. The rum topping did provide the burnt sugary flavor I associate with that drink but again, it tasted more of honey than of rum to me. As rum-topped tobaccos go, and as F&T Virginia flakes go, this one is not so great, but not bad at all. Different from their other VA-based flakes, and worthy of a trial.

Arrrrrrrrrrrrrrr Matey. This here Old Tobey harkened back to the pirate days of yore. Fantastic, let me dare say amazing pressed Virginia flake. Ever so delightfully topped with what 37.66 years of experience tells me is an effluvial ester ridden grog that would make her majesty Queen Elizabeth sit straight up in her throne and pass wind. Not a loud one mind you, just a satisfied one cheek sneak of a squeegee.

Ahhhhh. What was I saying. This stink weed is so amazing I digressed into an intellectual coma. Amazing flake. I know. I have tons of experience rubbing one out. A bowl of flake that is.

And to all you ninnys who insist on flake being smoked out of a small bowled pipe, I say balderdash and drink from the spittoon of Biezelbub. I smoked this is any damn size pipes I could find. Amazing

This flake is so damn fine it makes you want to slap your granny.

Pipe Used: Dunhill groups 2-6, cob, 76 year old Meer

Age When Smoked: 1.265 years in the tin.

Purchased From: The store fool

Similar Blends: Zastertsins Olde Monkeys Tail flake. But they stopped production of that right before the big one WWII..

F&T is responsible for commissioning some fine Virginias and Virginia-based blends. If Special Brown Flake claimed to be nothing more than a mid-weight Brown Virginia, it would be a decent, if dull, example of the genre. It claims, however, to be a rummified Virginia and sadly takes the title as the least rummy rum-infused tobacco I've ever had. I've tried it in briar and cob, tried it rubbed, tried it folded...heck, I even did an origami butterfly out of a couple of the flakes, and the stuff is consistently boring.

The tin aromas suggest the classic burnt sugar notes of dark or Navy rum, but in the pipe, it proves to be nothing more than a tease, a rigid D-cup bra holding a pair of A-bumps. The burn is fine, I suppose and the flake quality is good, but it's simply not as advertised.

The presentation is nice and typical of Kohlhase & Kopp manufacturing. No complaints. The moisture was okay. 15 minutes of drying would do it some good, but you can smoke it straight from the tin and be okay, if you don't mind relights. The tin note is typical of many Virginia blends. There is a fruit note, but that might be from pectin more than rum, which is the stated topping.

A note on rum toppings: take this information loosely. The world of rums is a diverse one, probably one of the most diverse spirits. I learned that you usually will not taste rum itself in the blend. What I look for is what rum can do to the tobacco. Oftentimes it makes the blend sweeter, and sometimes more tangy, as it does with this blend.

The blend is bright, grassy, and there are fruit notes, like dates, raisins, and honey. The flavor does get darker as you smoke down the bowl. It's very tasty if you sip it and let it develop. Pushing it will make it unforgiving, and it'll get hot. It took me a while to figure this one out. In many pipes (at the time) it burned hot. It was also summer which played a part in the combustion temperature. Rubbing it out is easy, and gets easier as you get through the tin or jar, and more air gets to it, drying it a little.

If you like straight Virginia blends, you can't go wrong with this one. It's sweetened with the rum, and if you like a little enhancement to your Virginias, you'll enjoy this. It's tangy and sweet, bready, fruit-forward, and mellow.

It's medium in strength and you probably won't notice the nicotine.

I found that a narrow bowl with a chamber with straight sides worked best and brought out the most flavor.

I have bought more tins after my first tin. I want to age it and enjoy it in years to come. This is a blend for the straight Virginia-lover. Is it mind-blowing? No. It is a solid straight Virginia.

My issue with this blend is the availability. It's hard to get sometimes. If it's not available, you can try Capstan Original Navy Cut, and you won't be far off with the flavor profile, but I think Capstan is richer and possibly more complex. Capstan is more readily-available.

When I first smoked Special Brown Flake, I was immediately smitten with its close resemblance to Capstan's Navy Flake (Blue) in terms of appearance, aroma, tobacco composition, and smoking characteristics, but at a much better price point. The rum is mildly applied and barely noticeable. The dark Virginia leaf offers a smooth and mellow smoke with slight fruity (figs) hints if sipped at a slow cadence. The bright leaf offers more undertones of grass with less citrus notes than similar leaf in blends such as Orlik Golden Slice. There is little chance of tongue bite even when puffed quickly, though you will see the subtleties in the flavor disappear.

If you prefer a more intensely flavored straight Virginia, SG FVF is a good alternative. That said, I prefer Fribourg & Treyer Special Brown Flake, because it is mmm good.

Now this is a good flake.. very lovely raisin like tin note.. lovely sweet/sour fermenting going on.. seems mature.. smokes very well.. cool.. and it tastes amazing.. very high grade leaf.. the rum is very subtle. Almost undetectable.. this is a rich and flavorful virginia.. not too hay or citrus.. nice middle of the spectrum notes.. the raisin really comes through.. bravo

Special Brown Flake provides a very pleasant smoke that is consistently good and one I look forward to. The charring light is robust with richness. There is sweetness from the Virginia and something extra that I can’t put into words, yet it is very enjoyable.

The simple description from Fribourg & Treyer says that there is a Navy rum top note; from the tin, I cannot detect it and in the smoke, I cannot taste it unless it is the source of the enjoyable charring light.

Nevertheless, the initial pleasure gives way to a completely satisfying and somewhat sweet Virginia Tobacco smoke. There is a spiciness that begins to come forward around the 1/3 point and stays along for the ride. While F&T did not indicate the inclusion of Perique, SBF acts like a nice full and rich VaPer with no bite.

Some have written that this blend does best with some age. My tin is 4 year old is superb and now is half gone. I’m going to buy some more to age and save this last half for the days when I want to enjoy a Proven Champ.

My flakes are a medium brown in colour with many light spots all over. They are only a little too moist, drying would be a benefit however it isn't imperative as without airing they can still be easily rubbed out if you wish to do so. The smell from the tin is stronger with rum than the flavour, the aroma is a definite rummy one but the taste just has a slight rum embellishment to it.

From start to finish Special Brown burns good, to initiate the burn it only requires a quite short touch of the flame which then becomes almost redundant due to the only necessity being the odd tamp. The temperature is fairly cool, a good feature well accompanied by zero bite. I find the nicotine quite mild, not fully mild hence why I tick mild to medium!

My initial thought upon my first puff was "four stars" and a few bowls have done nothing to assuage that feeling.

I agree with the previous review entirely. I too smoke Cornell and Dhiel Afterhours and the GH rum flake. The difference here is that it is less intense, better balanced, in the right quantity (the rum) and the smoke is perfect. One of the best Rum flakes, if not the best available. This is my second tin. Update: after the thrid tin, even more convinced this is a top quality, exceptionally good stuff.

I am a rum flavor fan. I have tried Cornell & Diehl's After Hours, Garwith Hoggart's Rum Flake, and now (drum roll please) Fribourg & Treyer's Special Brown Flake. I like them all; however, F & T stands out on top in my opinion. There is a good rum flavor, slight sweetness on the tip of the tong, and a smooth all the way through smoking experience.

In comparison to the others, I would say there is a slight tong bite with each of the others that occurs during the smoke. It reminds you to slow down a little. They both have nice rum aroma but F & T has the most rum taste.

If there is any downside the F & T's Special Brown Flake is that it is a little fast burning and it won't be around much longer. I wish it came in bulk. I would buy it by the pound! If you like rum, this is a must try.

The tin aroma is definately rum, with hints of chocolate/cocoa and raisin. It comes in a square 50g tin, with the only downside that it doesn't hold the moisture very well if left as it is after opening.

Packing this tobacco isn't any harder than any other flake, although they have a tendency to stick together and can be a bit of a nuisance to separate. But you get used to it. In my experience it is best smoked by folding and twisting rather than rubbing. When newly opened the moisture content is perfect, almost a little on the dry side.

The first puffs after the false light can be somewhat harsh. But it quickly settles into a very much well behaved and delightfully sweet experience. The aftertaste at this point reminds me alittle of liqueur, somewhere along the lines of licorice.

As the smoke progresses it takes on a slightly bitter cocoa taste, which starts to intermingle with sweet and dark stoved figgy notes. The mouthfeel is really quite velvety and a good body to the smoke develops making this an excellent smoking experience.

Burning characteristics are very good and there are no problems keeping it lit. Despite its tendency of being stout and heavy, I've never had any bite problems with this blend, even when tempting fate - but of course, keeping the puffing rate slow and steady keeps the flavour consistent and enjoyable.

It burns down to a white and dark grey ash, it sometimes leave a little oily goo by the airhole, but nothing a pipe cleaner won't handle.

The room note is pleasant and leaves a small tingle in the nose for a while, nothing out of the ordinary besides that that I can sense.

Final verdict? This is an exquisite and deeply satisfying virginia flake. Not one I smoke on a daily basis, but rather when the mood strikes. I seem to find it especially satisfying on cold autumn or winter evenings. When the conditions are right, I find it pretty much flawless.

I tried some F&T flakes or cut plugs at the Chicago Pipe Show which led me to buy four of them. Special Brown Flake appears to be a thinly sliced plug, medium brown throughout with a light sweetener. The aroma in the tin is a faint peach or apricot and Virginia tobacco. No fruitiness comes through in the smoke. It appears to be well aged because the flakes come apart quite easily, almost like a Krumble Kake, although this may be the result of the F&T process. The tobacco packs, lights and burns easily to a white/grey ash all the way to the bottom of the bowl. The smoke is a very mild, slightly sweetened Virginia flavor. This tobacco reminds me of Dunhill Light Flake but with less nicotine. I fill the pipe by making a dottle and then folding the flakes and inserting them endwise. This is extraordinarily good tobacco with a great, lightly sweetened Virginia flavor. I will be keeping the F&T cut plugs on hand as part of my regular rotation. Highly recommended. Paddy.

A hugely overlooked tobacco. F&T have several pretty good tobaccos...their straight virginia is notable for being bertrand russells favorite smoke, but in fact it is quite a nice mild uncomplicated tobacco. Cut Blended Plug reminds me of something Dunhill might have produced as a bespoke blend at their old duke street store. The real star of the line is Cut Va Plug.But this is the a close second.. Special Brown Flake is not overly complex, but it is very satisfying in its depth and for lack of a more creative word, in its deliciousness. It just tastes great. The Virginia is both bright and stoved I believe, with a moderate Rum addition, much as rum is added to McClellands Navy Cavindish. But it is a spicy rum so there are hints of cinnamon and clove way in the back (as in Hogarth Gawith's rum flake or cut bosun plug,....though this is nowhere near as strong). It has a nic hit that is a notch above mild. And two notches below medium. Over all it is simply an outstanding flake and I highly recommend you give it a try.

addendum. I should add that i smoked a tin i had that was ten or twelve years old. I bought a new tin and its not quite the same. This is something one finds a lot these days. Sadly. It is still a very worthy virginia flake ...not something there is an abundance of in these times.

This has a pleasant flavor of mostly dark fruit, but I get only the barest hint of rum. Mildly sweet with a touch of spice. It doesn't evolve and is very much the same throughout the bowl. I find myself getting a little bored with it. Not bad at all, but not something I'll be seeking out either.

Mild to medium in body and taste. I'm thinking that not all the fruit flavor is natural. I'd say the rum is less than extremely mild and the fruit is very mild. I'll kind of average that and go with extremely mild on flavoring. Burns very well.

The top note is more present in the tin than when smoked. It's a sweet, slightly toasted flavor with some burnt sugar taste from the rum topping. A very smoker friendly flake that is easy to pack and smoke from the tin. The flakes pack better with the ball method since they are thin and almost broken. It's a quality product but I prefer other brown flakes with a more full bodied flavor.

F&T'Special Brown Flake is exactly what it says it is,'a medium brown Virgina flake with a rum top note. The rum seems to fades as the smoke reaches mid bowl. It is an inoffense brand which over buns well and delivers exactly what it promises. It is though somewhat a neither nor. The virginas are not quite top shelf nor is the rum flavoring worth remembering. I would think that you would better suited with something Wilke's Rumcake if you looking for that sort of experience. Over all 2 stars.

I purchased a tin of SBF at Iwan Ries in November 2008. At that time it did little for me, so I cellered it and have not smoked another bowl until now. Well, what a difference a year and a half of aging has made. Smoked in several different pots - a Barling and a Benchmade - only lightly rubbed out,this tobacco "rings my bell". The flake has a top note of rum, combined with the traditional fruity aromas of Virginia leaf. It is not unpleasant. I cannot taste the rum top note while smoking SBF, just pleasant Virginia tobacco, mild with a very subtle sweetness. It does not bite or burn hot. I cannot detect any Perique in this flake. According to the label on the back of my tin, Germany is listed as the country of origin. A nice flake in a nice presentation. If you are looking for a mild Virginia flake, this is worth trying and cellering.

October 9, 2015 Just returned from London where I looked up the old F&T shop at 34 Haymarket Street. Almost 300 years old, but now a suvinoir shop. Yet the ancient shelves where jars of snuff were pulled for 265 years were still there along with the famous bow windows. Saddened that it is no longer a tobacco shop. But it inspired me to pull out my tin of SBF now 8 yrs. aged. This is a fantastic smoke. Plum and fruit flavors are pronounced. Coupled with an Islay scotch its just a little heaven. I'm glad something of F&T is still available and this flake ages beautifully.

I bought this one hoping I was in for a treat. Somehow it never answered up to my expectations of a dark chocolaty experience which reviews elsewhere had led me to believe. It is a really nice Virginia flake but it can't stand up to Marlin Flake which to me is the epiphany of VA Flakes. Like other reviewers I can't find the rum in this one? I have put the tin away in a tupperware box hoping that it will age with grace but it's only been two months yet. Might have to try this one agin and come back with an update...

Update: It's been another four months and I sat down with this giving it time, and suddenly it released all of its flavour when I came into "the zone" with it. Marvellously sweet and interesting, lots of chocolate and an tinge of vinegar, really nice have to give it one more star! It did improve with age, and drying out. Also giving it enough time and smoke really slow enhanced the experience a lot!

Of all the rum flavored or scented flakes I have tried, this one has the strongest rum flavor, short of peterson's connoisier's blend, but that is not a flake, though it contains some broken flake.

What special brown flake contains is some rum soaked virginias, probably soaked sopping wet then dried to a smokeable level. Marvelous. Has very little nicotine, but more than makes up with it, through its very rich flavor.

You get that sweet ephemeral molasses tang with a slight alcohol (probably heated off) right behind it. Then, the highest quality virginia taste follows, with the rum weaving in and out to the last ember, where they finally marry.

This is every bit as good as Dunhill flake was, in its own way. One that, in my humble opinion, should be more well known, and more popular than it is.

If you like virginias, and like molasses or rum, this is a must try. It is a blender's masterpiece.

Great looking flake, easy to prepare and light. Apparently this blend has some rum on it, but I couldn't taste much, if any in there. It may be a contributing factor to the slight burnt honey profile that the blend has. About a third of the way in it opens up and way more sweet presented. Overall between the two bowls I found it slightly sweet, spicy, with solid bass notes. F/S was non-temperamental and gave me the best flavor profile. I don't know what happened but my cubed bowl got away from me and burnt super hot. Probably user error or the blend just doesn't like being cubed out. I can see a lot of aging potential with this given the notes and flavors that I did find. This is, like most VAs, a sipper. Few relights required.

A great flake offering from F&T. A medium strength, tasty, high quality tobacco. Pressed and sliced into very thin flakes, which makes it great for folding or rubbing out. Will be buying more of this......very tasty.

Generally, I have a very good opinion about the Fribourg & Treyer mixtures. This blend confirms my opinion once more. Honest mixtures. Not 100% this time though, as in the description a rum flavor is mentioned, which I wasn't able to find at all. It has perfect moisture once you open the tin and it fills the pipe easily. It either has an undefined, bit spicy, chocolate flavor ??? or just a very intense and distinct flavor from the Virginia, I don't really get it. As almost all mixtures of this company, it is smoked up until the end of the bowl. Medium to strong regarding its nicotine level. I had it for at least 2 years in my cellar before I smoked it.

This is a very straightforward dependable smoke to me. The tobacco seemed toward the dry side when I opened the tin and the aroma was sweet moderately matured VA and not any strong casing. I was prepared to be underwelmed, although right from the match it was very pleasant. It smoked cool, and while not complex, it was sweet and nutty down to a gray ash.

I like it as a morning smoke. It will handle numerous relights (due to distraction) without penalty or back talk from the faint rum casing. I also think there are a number of VA's in this slot that may fit its role in my rotation with more presence, but all in all ... it's not a bad smoke.

This tin was picked up at the TinderBox in Santa Monica, while I was on a trip. I am always looking to try different Virginia Flakes.

Nice looking tin, but I noticed that just one afternoon of "dashboard stoving" had popped the seal. So a bit of warning to others on this...don't trust this tin to remain sealed in heat.

The flakes are 3/4 in x 2 3/4 in. with great coloring, nearly black streaks mixt with light browns and specks of bright virginia.

The tin aroma suggested a light topping, but not overwhelming.

The flakes rub out easily if needed, or will fold up for stuffing if one prefers.

I always do an initial surface char with a fine pointed Torch lighter, a couple quick one second blasts. Then let it go out. I follow that with a proper lighting via Old Boy or match. I sat waiting for the topping sweetnes to hit but it never arrived, only the subtle smoothness of very mature virginias. Noting in your face. just hints of different tastes as the bowl progressed. One puff would yield some hints of sweet, the next may waft a bit of Lakeland-like floral.. This is NOT a tobacoo to load up and smoke while doing something else, way to soft for that. This smoke needs your concentration. It demands that you relax on a calm, cool moonlit evening. It forces you to study every draw, taste and smell. This is a tobacco that will bring back many memories of various other events. The entire bowl was this way, top, middle and bottom. Complex isn't the right description, I like to try and use visuals, and this reminds me of an old library full of classic literature. You can walk thru it and quickly look at the contents. But to get the full measure of what it has to offer, one has to sit and become part of the experience.

I have tried this in several sized bowls, bothe rubbing it out and using the "Frank" method, with no real difference.

Epiloge...If you want lots of in your face flavors...this is not the tobacco for you. But if want to take the time, and study what it has to offer, you will be well rewarded. I give it 4 smoke rings out of 5. Al in Colorado

I was given a tin of this to try, upon openning the tin I thought there may some kind of aroma but could only detect the aroma of the Virginia. Looked like a chocolate candy bar when I first unwrapped the white paper, the tobacco itself was not dry and not real wet, but it did have that freshness that I enjoy in a tobacco.

I began to rub enough out to fill my Larsen Port, I did notice it did not fall apart as you rubbed the tobacco, but came off in a size like a tooth pick only shorter. I only rubbed a very little as not to make the the tobbaco too fine, but just enough to fit into the bowl without strands of tobacco hanging out over the bowl. As I lit the tobacco I could sense this was a Virginia, but smoked as if it were a straight Burley as it burned quite cool. I really never did detect a Rum Flavoring in the aroma or the taste.

This is is one of those tobaccos you want to set down but cannot as it is a tantalizingly tobacco that one wants to continue smoking, sort like going back to the cookie jar one more time.

To me the tobacco was mild, with no tongue bite, but cannot determine if I would recommend it to a beginner or not. I figure it will be one more to add to my collections of tobaccos to smoke on occasion.